Close Calls
November 22, 2011
The little slip of paper I removed from the fortune cookie read: “Every important call is a close one.” That notion may be more critically important in some aspects of life than others, but nowhere in the fun part of life is it any truer than competitive athletics.
Where the winning margin can be a fraction of a second or inch, observed by hundreds or even thousands of spectators, athletes, coaches and contest officials, we know this to be true: the toughest decisions are the most critical, most defining of all.
School and school sports administrators learn that it is the closest calls – where evidence is least conclusive, opinions most divided or precedent lacking – that have the greatest effect on their school communities and their own careers.
It is at these times – close calls – that leaders show up. That they speak up. That they stand up.
One Thing
March 11, 2016
One of Michigan’s finest athletic directors is Plainwell’s Dave Price, who recently encouraged me with a school newspaper article about a student who epitomizes school sports, Plainwell High School senior Jessica Nyberg. She participates for the Trojans in swimming & diving, basketball and soccer.
Trojan Torch staff writer Jordan Raglon featured Jessica in an article on Feb. 17, citing how much teammates and coaches value her companionship and leadership. The author cited her accomplishments in all three sports, but what caught my attention was this statement by Jessica: “If there was one thing sports has taught me, it’s that everyone matters.”
I can’t think of a better theme for school sports, or a better mission for educational athletics.
At its best, school sports teaches that teamwork works. That substitutes who practice with peak performance push the starters to even higher levels of performance, and turn some starters into stars.
At its best, school sports finds room for every student, regardless of ability or disability, to be a part of the team so long as the student meets the standards of eligibility, decorum, discipline and dedication the school and team demand.
At its best, school sports understands that “everyone matters” means that no student is above the rules, and that failure to apply rules to one student devalues other students who have complied with the rules.
With the attitude that “everyone matters,” teams tend to come together, discrimination tends to end, and fair play advances.